Goodlettsville, TN Outdoor Activities

Because it has its own hatchery, Bob White Springs makes sure there's always fish out there to be caught. And Bob White Springs also offers fly-fishing lessons so that there are always fishers out there to do the catching. Participants can angle for the multiple species in Bob White Springs’s waters, such as cutthroat, Atlantic salmon, and steelhead. New fishers and experienced anglers alike can schedule at the springs to try to snag a catch.

Dazzling formations and a remarkable register of past residents renders the Lost River Cave a tour treasure for families, history buffs, and geological geeks alike. The cave's titular river rests below gnarls of stunning stalactites and stalagmites, the finest views of which emerge on the cave boat tour, the only underground cruise of its kind in the state. As the daylight suddenly vanishes and things begin to glow in the dark, one of Lost River’s friendly, funny guides will fill you in on the Lost River's prehistoric Native American roots, as well as its later habitation by Civil War soldiers and outlaws like Jesse James—painting a vivid picture of the cave's hospitable environs and its 8,000-year-old bellhop. Upon disembarking, you'll continue your sabbatical from sunshine with a further 20-minute guided walking tour of the cave. Visitors have been known to spot native pipistrelle bats, cave salamanders, eyeless crawfish, and skinny-dipping gnomes.

In the gulches of an abandoned phosphate mine, a labyrinthine path echoes with the roar of unseen chainsaws and the rustles of hidden ghouls. Monsters and zombies lurk in the darkness at Millers Thrillers Zombie Paintball Hayride and Haunted Woods, but it isn't mere craving for blood or brains that makes them so eager to terrify––the scary staff members actually receive a bonus for making visitors wet themselves. Really. “I did always like Halloween," says founder and owner David Miller.

Miller wasn’t always in the pants-wetting business, but you might say the business of Halloween in his blood. He grew up growing and selling pumpkins with his grandfather and––though he admits he was too scared to try them as a kid––his interest in haunted houses led him to intense study in the art of scaring, including seminars and conventions. His interest in creating eerie worlds inspired him to begin his walk through haunted woods and zombie-paintball hayride––during which visitors wield mounted paintball guns to fire upon advancing zombies and blank canvases hurled by poltergeists. But landing a few paintball hits won't be enough to ease the natural terror of the haunt's surroundings. “There’s a lot of spooky stuff around all this country farmland… with no streetlights in sight,” Miller says. “We…play on the fact that people are going to feel like they’re lost in the middle of nowhere.”

Despite the fright fest’s scariness, Miller’s real aim is to give visitors a good time. Staff members go easy on little kids and the elderly, and at the end of the walk, customers can calm chattering teeth around a fire pit and rejoin the world of the living by gathering around the concession stand or a stage that hosts a nightly illusionist and zombie drum line.

Six ponds and 52 sandtraps aim to thwart golfers as they traverse WillowBrook Golf Club's par 72 layout. Measuring 6,709 yards from the farthest tees, the course's Bermuda grass fairways and bent grass greens offer airborne balls open landing zones, eschewing the need to hire squirrels as air-traffic controllers along the rough.

WillowBrook Golf Club also fosters golf game improvement at its driving range, two putting greens, and short game practice facility. After a day spent fine-tuning their swing and filling their scorecard with only prime numbers, golfers can unwind at Boskey's Grille, which serves a menu of sandwiches, ribs, seafood, and pasta in a casual atmosphere with complimentary WiFi.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Length of 6,709 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 71.8 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 123 from the farthest tees
• Four tee options

A captain licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard, Jim Steele’s more than 25 years of boating⎯including time spent at the helm of Opryland’s water taxis⎯comes in handy as he coaxes The Blue Heron, a specially built 40-foot pontoon, about the Cheatham Wildlife Management Area on daily tours. Out on the water amid soothing birdsongs and the burbles of river critters, Captain Jim can be found behind the wheel of the craft, exercising his chops as an entertainer as he regales his passengers with chuckle-inducing anecdotes and factoids about local flora and fauna. With the comfort and safety of his guests always in mind, Captain Jim equipped the Heron with a restroom and keeps the vessel stocked with a comprehensive library of life jackets to fit adults, children, and pet iguanas of all ages and sizes. Hitting an average cruising speed of 5 to 10 miles per hour, the Heron affords its passengers leisurely looks at area wildlife as it embarks upon all manner of tours, from gold-tinged sunset cruises to kids' adventures punctuated by the gleeful laughter of curious youngsters.

Set up along verdant forests, mountains, and valleys, Kentucky Action Park's outdoor attractions bring elements of the old-timey Wild West to the modern-day sense of adventure. The winding turns of an alpine slide send sleds on exhilarating quarter-mile trips down the mountain, and putters propel colorful orbs across 18 western-themed mini-golf holes. Chair lifts and a 24-foot rock wall tower overhead, the top of which grant scenic views typically seen only by birds and children holding many balloons. Elsewhere, horses trot out of the Jesse James Riding Stables, which has been in operation for more than 30 years. At Outlaw Cave, guided tours travel below ground to view stalactites and rock formations sculpted by the patience of water over the past millennia.